Existing systems for collecting digital video data from wearable cameras have a plethora of technical shortcomings, especially when used in a law enforcement context. Wearable cameras for law enforcement require long battery life to last through an entire shift. However, it is also desirable to monitor the activities performed with such cameras in order to ensure that a chain of custody of any videos recorded by the cameras can be provably established, and to ensure that any videos recorded by the cameras are eventually uploaded to an evidence management system for storage. Because the cameras require minimal power consumption and have only intermittent connectivity to an evidence management system (if any at all), technical hurdles exist in collecting data from wearable cameras in a way that can provide reliable chain-of-custody information and preserve battery life at the same time.